Empoli demotion leaves Grella free to play Turks

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Empoli's defeat against Inter Milan on Sunday means that Socceroo Vince Grella's team will be relegated from Serie A - a fate that could hasten the international midfielder's departure from the club with whom he has played for the past five years.

As a result of Empoli's 3-2 loss and subsequent demotion, Grella will not be involved in any post-season play-off matches. So there should be no doubts about his availability for Australia's two matches against Turkey over the next six days, nor for the World Cup qualifiers in Adelaide beginning on Saturday week.

Grella's contract at Empoli is up, and he has said he is now keen to move on.

Socceroo officials are also waiting to hear if back-up goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac will be able to take his place for the duration of the Adelaide tournament (May 29 to June 6) against the leading Oceania nations. His club side Perugia's 1-0 win over Ancona means he will be involved in a promotion-relegation play-off on June 16 and June 20.

Inter's win over Empoli also had a significant impact on Socceroo Mark Bresciano, whose Parma side missed out on a Champions League spot because of Inter's win.

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Socceroo forwards John Aloisi (Osasuna) and Paul Agostino (Munich 1860) should also be available for the qualifiers after their club sides failed to win at the weekend, meaning their league seasons are effectively over.

Another big event in Italy at the weekend was former European footballer of the year Roberto Baggio's farewell appearance. Baggio had the perfect stage from which to salute his army of admirers as his Brescia team took on champion AC Milan at a packed San Siro.

Milan was celebrating its 17th scudetto, but the near 80,000 fans also found time to show their appreciation for Baggio.

"It was emotional, it was beautiful and I give my thanks to the Milan supporters who treated me with such affection," Baggio said.

In Spain, Real Madrid lost 2-1 at already relegated Murcia, a game in which midfielder David Beckham was sent off for insulting a linesman.

With one game left, champion Valencia tops the table with an unassailable 77 points, and Barcelona is second on 72, two ahead of Real and four in front of Deportivo Coruna.

In Scotland, Henrik Larsson made a tearful farewell to the Celtic fans at Parkhead, scoring two late goals to secure a 2-1 win against Dundee United in his last competitive match in front of his home crowd.